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| Reo Jonta Thompson, 17, and Gregory Brooks Jr., 18, havd been charged in connection with the murder of CLTV talk show host Garrard McClendon's parents in Hammond, Ind. Cook County Sheriff's Office |
Posted: Wednesday, 28 October 2009 2:11PM
Not guilty pleas entered for teens in McClendon murders
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CROWN POINT, Ind. (STNG) -- Two teens being held on $250,000 bond each for a violent robbery that left a northwest Indiana couple dead made their initial court appearances Wednesday and a judge entered automatic not guilty pleas.
Gregory Brooks Jr., 17, and Reo Jon'Ta Thompson, 18, both of Hammond, were extradited from Cook County on Tuesday and appeared Wednesday before Magistrate Natalie Bokota in Lake Superior Court, according to the Lake County Prosecutor's office.
At the initial hearing, the magistrate entered the automatic not guilty pleas for the pair, who are charged with two counts each of robbery and burglary, four counts each of confinement, and one count each of auto theft, according to the prosecutor's office. Public defenders were appointed for both teens.
Bond had been set in their arrests warrants at $250,000 each, according to prosecutor's office spokeswoman Diane Poulton.
The pair are charged with the Hammond robbery that left Ruby and Milton Wayman McClendon dead. They were the parents of CLTV host Garrard McClendon.
The teens, who live just blocks from the McClendons' home, waived extradition Monday after being arrested on the South Side of Chicago on Friday.
Prosecutors allege the teens beat 78-year-old Milton McClendon and his 76-year-old wife, Ruby; stole $50 in cash, a rifle, jewelry and other items; then locked the couple in a closet.
Brooks and Thompson, who claim they were with a third suspect named Kevin Langley, left the residence, then returned to "finish off" the McClendons, according to charging documents.
The McClendons' bodies were found Oct. 19 about two miles from their home in a Calumet City forest preserve. Ruby McClendon was shot multiple times, while Milton McClendon was killed by a single shot to the head.
The teens reportedly have blamed each other for the shootings, and charging affidavits do not detail the killings. Murder charges had not been filed as of Wednesday afternoon against either teen, and investigators do not believe Kevin Langley is a real person.
Brooks and Thompson were seen by multiple witnesses riding in the McClendons' stolen Cadillac El Dorado in the days after the killings, and were captured on surveillance video selling jewelry stolen from the McClendons at a Hammond pawn shop.
The car was found abandoned on the Dan Ryan Expy. near 55th Street, and a witness described two males walking away from the car, which had run out of gas, prosecutors said.
Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. said murder charges against the teens are likely after police analyze evidence, including DNA that links the teens to the murders.
They will be lodged separately in the maximum security section of the jail, according to Marco Kuyachich, chief of the Lake County Sheriff's Police.
Thompson was ordered to appear in court for a formal appearance on Nov. 5 and an omnibus hearing on Jan. 7, while Brooks is scheduled to appear Nov. 6 and Jan. 8, Poulton said. Trial dates are set at the omnibus hearings.
Investigators still are seeking witnesses who saw others riding in the green 1997 El Dorado in the days after the killings. Anyone with information should call Hammond police at (219) 853-6490.
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